1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a document editing apparatus, such as a word processor or a personal computer, of a type which can read characters and patterns on an original document by an image reader and which can display, edit and store image data read by the image reader. More particularly, this invention relates to a document editing apparatus comprising an image reader which can be used at a place remote from the body of the document editing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most of the document editing apparatus, such as word processors or personal computers, which have rapidly come into wide use in recent years are provided with an image reader. Image readers are broadly classified into a large stationary type and a small portable type. The present invention is directed to the image reader of the small portable type (which is referred to hereinafter as a hand scanner).
The hand scanner, which is grasped by the hand of an operator and moved over an original document to read characters and patterns drawn on the original document, is preferably as small in size and light in weight as possible. For this reason, the hand scanner itself is not provided with a memory, and image data read by the hand scanner is transferred by a signal cable to the body of a document editing apparatus. However, in such a document editing apparatus, the hand scanner must be always used in a state connected with the body of the document editing apparatus, and this is inconvenient for the operator who handles the hand scanner.
As an alternative to deal with such a problem, JP-A-6l-164368 proposes a hand scanner provided with a memory. Thus, in the proposed hand scanner, a memory IC or a floppy disk device is incorporated in its memory part to store image data read by the hand scanner. However, when the size of the hand scanner using the memory IC in its memory part is selected to be handy to carry in the hand of an operator, the memory capacity that can be incorporated in the hand scanner is so small or capable of only storing image data corresponding to about a quarter of a sheet of size A4 paper according to the JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards). Therefore, the proposed hand scanner is inconvenient in that it cannot be used to read a large quantity of characters and patterns from an original document at a place remote from the body of the document editing apparatus. On the other hand, when the floppy disk device is used in the memory part of the hand scanner, the overall size of the hand scanner becomes inevitably large due to the large size of the floppy disk drive. Also, because the power supply unit for the floppy disk drive is large in size and heavy in weight, the hand scanner is not handy to carry by the hand of the operator.